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7/27/2019 South Asian Democracy Watch Newsletter, May 18, 2013
1/16
Presents
International Symposium
DEMOCRACY AND THE EASTERN SCHOLARSHIP: ALLAMA IQBAL
MAY 18, 2013, 6-11 P.M., North Holiday Inn, Garland, TX
In Collaboration With
Exclusive Media Partner, FunAsia Radio
Muslim Community Center for Human Services,Pakistan Chronicle, Pakistan Journal, South Asia Chronicle
Program Sponsors
Dr. Ashfaq Siddiqui, Dr. Rehana Kausar, Dr. Arjumand Hashmi
Mr. Irfan Ali, Mr. Tabassum Mumtaz, Mr. Azeem Yasin
Organizing Committee & SADeW Board of Directors
Dr. Qaisar Abbas, Syed Fayyaz Hassan, Raja Muzzafar, Siraj Butt,
Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada
Aftab Siddiqui, Tausif Kamal, Asif Effendi
7/27/2019 South Asian Democracy Watch Newsletter, May 18, 2013
2/16
ProgramDEMOCRACY AND THE EASTERN SCHOLARSHIP: ALLAMA IQBAL
Master of Ceremony: Dr. Arjumand Hashmi, (Mayor, City of Paris, TX)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH ASIA
Davinder Singh Daman, (Playright, actor and screenwriter from India): Theater and Political
Consciousness in India
Tausif Kamal, (Attorney): Elections in Pakistan: A Brief Analysis
Syed Fayyaz Hassan, (Political Activist): Democracy in South Asia: An Overview
DINNER
PANEL DISCUSSION: ALLAMA IQBAL AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
Dr. Basheer Ahmed(Chair)
Dr. Masood Raja (University of North Texas)
Misinterpretations of Iqbal Today
Ms. Talmeez Fatima Burney(Urdu Writer, Radio Anchor)
Iqbals Concept of Time
Dr. Qaisar Abbas (University of North Texas)
Allama Iqbal in the 21STCentury Turmoil
DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER
Dr. Theresa Denial, Commissioner Dallas County (Introduction Aftab Siddiqui
Democracy in Developing Countries and American Policies
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Ambassador, Dr. Mohammed Mahallati, Oberlin College, Ohio (Introduction by Asif Siddiqui)
Allama Iqbal as he is Viewed in the Contemporary Iran
Dr. Nyla Ali Khan, University of Oklahoma (Introduction by Raja Muzaffar)
Iqbals Notion of Democracy in the Context of India and Pakistan
SEMI CLASSICAL MUSIC AND GHAZALS
Ghazal Maestro Ustad Salamat Ali will sing Allama Iqbals Kalam (Introduction by Siraj Butt)
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ARTICLES ON DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH ASIA
STATUS OF DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH ASIA
Syed Fayyaz Hassan
(Political activist and member South Asia
Democracy Watch Board of Directors).
Home to two nuclear powers and proximity to
two other super powers makes South Asia as one
of the most important regions in the world. The
region that comprises eight countries, including
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka, faces some common issues
of poverty, development, equity and democracy.
South Asian societies are at different stages ofdemocratic development, though they are all
moving into a democratic environment. Common
challenges to democracy in most of these countries
include womens empowerment, inclusion of
religious minorities and voting irregularities besides
violence and military interventions.
India being the largest democracy in the world
has built an enormous infrastructure supporting
democratic institutions. Military, judiciary,
bureaucracy and parliament are all cohesive units
and work under their jurisdictions prescribedin the constitution. India however faces human
rights challenges in various regions. Occupation
of Kashmir against the will of its people is the
biggest setback to Indian democracy. The extremist
Hindu political parties pose a real threat to
Indian democracy. Voter intimidation, denial of
voting rights to women and low castes are other
challenges.
Pakistan, a nuclear power with multiple ethnic
groups, is a constitutional democracy run by
a bi-cameral parliament. However, Judiciary,Military and bureaucracy are constantly at war.
A victim of its geopolitical location and a prolong
ward in Afghanistan terrorism has become a
huge challenge for Pakistan. An environment
of confrontational politics is promoted by the
power groups has further wakened democratic
environment. In the environment where killing,
kidnapping, and coercion against media people
are a norm, democracy is constantly under
attack. Voter intimidation, especially women and
minorities is quite pervasive. Pakistan is moving
to institutionalize the democratic process and
its voters are quite resolute in their struggle fordemocratic rights.
Afghanistan has been under foreign occupation
by two superpowers for the last two decades.
Currently all institutions in the country are
dependent on NATO and American whims and
wishes. However elections had been held and a
constitution is written by an elected assembly. A
continuous state of war has resulted in conversion
of a beautiful country into a large battleground.
As American and NATO forces are planning to
withdraw by 2014, the nation, democracy inAfghanistan will remain a dream for some time.
Bangladesh is still battling structural issues and
constitutional balance of power after 42 years of
independence. Although the country has improved
tremendously in building political institutions, Army
intervention in politics is an ongoing challenge to
democracy. Development of two political parties is
a positive development even though their human
rights record is not so bright. NGOs in Bangladesh
play an important role in poverty alleviation and
literacy improvement. Social changes and capacitybuilding took place in the last decade has helped in
political stability of the country. Electoral reforms,
human rights abuses, military interventions and
women empowerment are the contemporary issues
Bangladesh democracy is facing today
Sri Lanka has been a functional democracy for 80
years now, with Universal Adult Franchise bestowed
by the British in 1931. The country followed the
classic Westminster bi-cameral parliament model
and, does not separate the Executive from the
Legislature. Thirty years internal insurgency whichended in 2009 has an enormous impact on Sri
Lankas society. The human rights abuses during
the insurgency were at alarming level. UN Human
rights Sri Lanka with its best social indicators is fully
capable of building back cohesiveness in society as
well as democratic institutions
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Nepals democracy is in its embryonic stage
which faces several challenges from various
fronts. Converting a 240 years old monarch into
a democracy and bringing Maoist rebels into
democratic setup is a herculean task by itself. Nepal
today is a multi-party parliamentary democracywith bicameral legislature and is adjusting to
democratic norms and building democratic
institutions. Nepal is one of the few countries
in Asia to abolish the death penalty and is the
first one in Asia that allowed same sex marriage.
Maintaining an equitable balance between diverse
ethnic compositions poses an ongoing challenge to
democracy in Nepal.
Bhutan had been an absolute monarchy till 2007
and democratization was accomplished in 2011.
The expulsion of minority communities and humanrights abuses of minorities continues as regular
practices even in democratic regime in Bhutan. The
country lacks traditional democratic institutions
and its democracy is taking shape on a continuous
basis. Proximity of India, Nepal and China also
pose challenges in keeping balance in foreign and
domestic policies. Expulsion of people of Nepalese
origin from Bhutan has created an international
refugee crisis.
Maldives is a presidential republic, with the
President as head of government and head of state.Following the introduction of a new constitution
in 2008, direct elections for the President take
place every five years, with a limit of two terms in
office for any individual. Maldives is yet to have
full democracy in its institutional setup. However,
the independence of judiciary is enhanced by a
constitutional amendment in 2008 and several
reforms lately have set the country on the right
path.
WHAT HISTORIC ELECTIONS?
Pervez Hoodbhoy
(Pakistans leading political analyst and member
South Asia Democracy Watch Advisory Council).
Thankfully they are over and done with, and
only a few hundred not a few thousand lives
were lost. The PPP's rout was extremely well-
deserved. It is headed for the dustbin of history
unless, by some miracle, it miraculously reinvents
itself as a non-dynastic mission-driven party. One
feels somewhat sorrier for the ANP in spite of its
general ineptness and inability to deliver on honest
governance. But it was targeted by TTP fanatics and,
in the words of Asfandyar Wali Khan, the election
campaign became a matter of "picking up the dead,
carrying their funerals and taking the wounded to
hospitals". The long anticipated tsunami, it turned
out, belonged to Nawaz Sharif. This victory of a
center-right leader may not be much to celebrate
but, at least for now, he is acting as a statesman
and saying many of the right things. Meanwhile a
certain disappointed cricketer, who kowtows to the
Taliban and justifies their every atrocity, is venting
his spleen from his hospital bed.
Breathless commentators have termed these
elections "historic". But what exactly will they
change? Contenders had competing claims of how
they served local communities, and won or lost
largely on those grounds. Quite properly, those who
had pocketed too much were booted out. Musical
chairs are always fun to watch as various players
jockey for personal power. But there was no battle
of ideas. Many deeper issues were only barely
touched, if at all. Here are three:
Foreign Relations: Pakistan's steady descent into
chaos and terrorism is fundamentally connected
with the conduct of its foreign policy, at the core
of which has been the export of jihad into Kashmir
and Afghanistan. Apart from the international
condemnation that this has earned for Pakistan, the
blowback has been devastating. Fortunately, there
now is some glimmer of recognition and a desire to
change this.
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Although he did not make it a major election issue,
Nawaz Sharifs keenness to normalize relations
with India is probably genuine. But does that really
matter? After all, Zardari too had been keen but
his efforts were made largely ineffective after the
Mumbai attacks. A normalization would amount toa fundamental reorientation of the Pakistani state
a reorientation that will be resisted tooth and nail
by jihadist forces on Pakistani soil that operate with
full knowledge and consent of the Army. Relations
with Afghanistan and the United States, as well
as nuclear policy, are considered by the Army as
matters which are far too important to be left to
politicians.
Still, there is hope that Nawaz Sharif might be able
to pull some weight. The army has been weakened
and divided by the relentless insurgencies it hashad to fight, and its confidence shaken by insider
attacks. General Kayani's successor will formally be
chosen by the prime minister. Here will lay the first
test.
Baluchistan: Expelled just after the elections,
Declan Walsh, correspondent for the Guardian and
the New York Times, had written a moving account
of the situation in Baluchistan: "The bodies [of
abducted Baloch youth] surface quietly, like corks
bobbing up in the dark. They come in twos and
threes, a few times a week, dumped on desolatemountains or empty city roads, bearing the scars
of great cruelty. Arms and legs are snapped;
faces are bruised and swollen. Flesh is sliced with
knives or punctured with drills; genitals are singed
with electric prods. In some cases the bodies are
unrecognizable, sprinkled with lime or chewed
by wild animals. All have a gunshot wound in the
head."
How will elections change this awful situation,
especially since ethnic Baluch parties have
done poorly? Talk of reconciliation with Baluchnationalists comes cheap, but trust is lacking.
For decades the Baluch have complained of ill-
treatment. They say their natural wealth has been
expropriated by Punjab and that Baluchistans
natural gas reached remote Punjabi towns long
before it was available in Quetta and then
only because an army cantonment needed it.
Baluch representation in the civil and the military
bureaucracy remains close to zero.
Fearful Minorities: Pakistan's religious minorities
Ahmadis, Shias, Hindus, Christians are watching,
not rejoicing. The call to create a more open and
tolerant society was too weak to be heard during
the election rumpus. Several Islamic extremists
were candidates themselves, an indication that
in today's political climate extremism is no longer
to be considered extremism. No public outrage
followed as, in the run up to the elections, the TTP
took upon itself the role of kingmaker by murdering
hundreds they deemed as too secular or liberal.
The state's performance in protecting minorities
has been dismal. It has stood as a silent spectator to
the daily murder of those citizens whose particular
variant of Islam differs from that of the majority.
Shia neighbourhoods have been devastated by
suicide attacks, and men identified by Shia names
like Abbas and Jafri have been dragged out from
buses and executed Gestapo style. Ominously,
the PMLN hosts active, well known, Shia killers in
its party's ranks. Ahmadis have nowhere to go.
The police remain unconcerned when they are
murdered, or have their graveyards dug up and
desecrated openly by the local powers-that-be.
Although Sind was traditionally much more tolerant
than Punjab, Hindus have fled Sind en masse.
Conclusion: A country's politics reflects
the underlying social relations between its
communities, relations with the rest of the world,
and the distribution of economic power. The recent
election brought none of these fundamentals under
serious questioning. Unlike the 1970's election
campaign of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who had made
grand promises for land reform and redistribution
of wealth that he never intended to fulfil this time
around large issues were not even on the agenda.
Instead we had Cricketer Khan's hopelessly wildclaims: corruption to be eliminated in 90 days;
the same educational syllabi to be enforced in
Waziristan and Kurram as in Lahore and Karachi;
and the end of terrorism once Pakistan starts
shooting down American drones.
A prediction: in the initial period Pakistan is likely
to see a somewhat more efficient and less corrupt
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government, more hours of electricity, improved
tax collection, and hopefully a tad less extremist
violence as well. This will come as a relief to weary
Pakistanis. But shortly thereafter it will become
business as usual. "Shortly" could mean six months,
or a year. In the absence of a drastic reorientationof basic attitudes, longer is unlikely.
LONG MARCH FOR PEACE AND HARMONY
Dr. Sandeep Pandey
(Peace activist based in India and member Advisory
Council, South Asia Democracy Watch.)
This article discusses two grassroots campaigns
in the Indian subcontinent a long march to end
violence between Hindus and Muslims, and a cross-
border peace march in India and Pakistan. These
marches proved to be very enriching experiences
for the participating people and the common
people who interacted with us on streets and in the
public meetings that we organized.
Hindu-Muslim Violence
Violence against the Muslim community in Gujarat
had taken place in 2002 with the collusion ofstate government headed by the right wing Chief
Minister Narendra Modi after a train compartment
carrying Hindu right wing activists on the way
back from the holy city of Ayodhya was burnt
mischievously in Godhara located in Gujarat itself.
It was alleged that the train compartment was
burned by Muslims outside the railway station in
Godhara after a young Muslim girl was pulled inside
the train by Hindu activists over a dispute with her
father, a tea vendor on the railway platform. Ashok
Singhal, the President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad,
a right wing organization which was behind the
demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992 and
planned to build a temple dedicated to Hindu God
Ram at this place, had issued a warning: Gujarat
was only a laboratory, the entire country would
be converted into Gujarat. We resolved that
we would not let UP become another Gujarat. A
march for communal harmony was planned from
Chitrakoot to Ayodhya, both places of religious
significance associated with Ram, whose character
had undergone a transformation during the Ram
temple movement. The moderate family loving Ram
had been converted to a belligerent one in graphic
depictions.
It was a 26-day march during the summer of 2002.
We carried various printed material related to
communal harmony for distribution along the way.
Although at some places there were altercations
with people influenced by religious fundamentalists,
the march was otherwise peaceful. The District
Magistrate, chief executive officer at district level,
of Faizabad would not let us enter Ayodhya and
finally the march had to be terminated in Faizabad.
Swami Agnivesh, a progressive Hindu leader who
had devoted his life to social justice, arrived for
the occasion. After the final meeting some of us
in a vehicle went to Ayodhya to hold a symbolic
meeting inside a temple. This was organized by
Yugal Kishore Sharan Shashtri, a Mahanth or chief
priest of a tample, who had been fighting against
the communal politics living in Ayodhya. Since then
Shashtri has taken out numerous yatras or marches
for communal harmony. Soon his temple will
transform into a multi-faith harmony center which
is at a visible distance from the disputed site.
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When we took out the communal harmony peace
march in 2002 no organization, except for the
right wing ones, were allowed to organize events
in Ayodhya, especially if they questioned the
communal politics no matter which government
was in power in the state. The right wing bias in
the administration was quite clear. However, since
then, a series of events mainly organized by Yugal
Kishore Sharan Shashtri, have played an important
role in defusing the atmosphere of fear and terror
created by right wing Hindu organizations. The
secular activists had to pay a price for this as
Shastris programmes were banned and he has
been arrested and spent three and a half months in
jail on one occasion. I was arrested also in Ayodhya
twice in 2002 and 2003, and faced a case of sedition
in a Faizabad court.
Marching Across the Border
On the first day of the Global Peace March in
Pokaran the opposition was raising a question.
We could protest against Indian test as India was
a democracy, however, could we do the same in
Pakistan? Since then I started thinking to organize amarch between India and Pakistan for disarmament
and peace someday. Only a joint campaign between
the two countries had any meaning as they had
armed themselves to the teeth against each other.
The opportunity came in 2003. I went to Pakistan as
part of a big delegation to participate in a Pakistan-
India Peoples Forum for the Peace and Democracy
convention, which was held once in two years.
The first Pakistani citizen I met at the border,
Saeeda Diep, now a well-known pro-democracy
and human rights activist in Pakistan, was later
to agree to cooperate in taking out a joint march.
The march finally happened in 2005 between the
shrine of well-known Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin
Auliya in Delhi, India to the shrine of another Sufi
saint Bahauddin Zakaria in Multan, Pakistan. Sufi
saints symbolized tolerance, peace and communal
harmony and were equally popular among the
people of all faiths on the both sides of the border.
I had personally requested the external affairs
minister of India, Natwar Singh to grant visas to
Pakistani citizens so that they could walk from Delhi
to the Wagha border of Pakistan. The practice
between India and Pakistan is to give city specific
visas to visitors from other country. To give him
credit, he gave visas to Pakistani citizens for the 14
districts which fell on the way to participate in the
march specifically. But there was a delay of ten
days. The Pakistani interior ministry took further 13days to grant permission to cross the Wagha
border. Anticipating such obstacles we had decided
to begin the march from Delhi even if Pakistani
marchers didnt arrive in time. Similarly Pakistani
marchers were expected to complete the Pakistani
leg, Wagha to Multan, in case we didnt make it
there. Three Pakistani citizens including actress
Meera were there to flag off the march on
23rd March, 2005. When Meera arrived at Delhi
airport from Karachi she was told that her port of
entry was Mumbai and she would have to go back
to Karachi and then enter India through Mumbai!
Such are the ridiculous restrictions on travel
between the two countries. It was due to Mahesh
Bhatts intervention, the known Bollywood movie
director, who came for the inauguration ceremony
too, that Meera could finally come out of the
airport in Delhi.
Nine Pakistani citizens including the prominent
activist Saeeda Diep joined us on the banks of River
Beas when we were in the last Indian district of
Amritsar. We went into the water removing our
shoes and took a pledge that we did not recognize
the division of land, water and nature and believed
in the oneness of humankind. The marching
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Pakistanis received very warm response on the
Indian roads and markets.
Then we hit the barrier at Wagha. Even though
I had gone to Islamabad and personally handed
over a list of 110 Indian citizens who wanted to
participate in the march to the Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz and received his assurance that we
would get the visas, we were eventually denied the
visas. The meeting with the PM was organized by
the main Pakistani organizer for the march Karamat
Ali, a trade union activist. After several days, 12 of
us were granted visas but not for the march. We
had permission to drive through from Lahore to
Multan.
A warm response awaited us at the border when
we entered Pakistan. Unlike India, politicians and
bureaucrats were willing to officially welcome us in
Pakistan. The mayor of Lahore went so far as to say
that we could organize a march inside the city from
any point to anywhere. On our way from Lahore
to Multan we stopped at Sahiwal and Chichawatni.
The Gaddi Nashin, spiritual head, of the shrine at
Nizamuddin Auliya, Nazim Ali Nizami was travellingwith us. Huge crowd came out to see him and
convey their wishes to him which they wanted to be
made at the dargah (shrine) in Delhi.
Impacts of Peace Marches
Through these peace marches we broke several
barriers and accomplished the tasks which seemed
impossible. The people who participated in
these marches went through a life-transforming
experiences and we initiated healthy debates
wherever we went.
Some experiences, however, were simply mind
boggling. One such from the India Pakistan peace
march will always stand out in my mind. We were
approached by a Tadi Kirtan singer of a Gurudwara
on his bicycle from the back as were to enter
Jalandhar. He referred to our signature campaign
sheet in which we were asking people to sign on
three demands: India and Pakistan should resolve
all their disputes through dialogue; they should end
the arms race and destroy their nuclear armaments
and they should do away with the Passport-Visa
system and allow free passage across the border.
He suggested that if we were to make our last
demand as our first it would be easier for us to
resolve the other two as well. I had not expected
this wisdom from such a simple person. It occurred
to me then that we educated activists sometime
decide an agenda which is quite different from
peoples priorities. It was a very humbling and
educative experience for me.
____________________
THE ESCALATING TURMOIL IN BANGLADESH
Lal Khan
(International Secretary of Pakistan Trade Union,
Defense Campaign)
A recently established tribunal on war crimes in
Bangladesh on February 5 sentenced the Jamaat-
a-Islami chief, Abdul Qadir Mullah, to life time
imprisonment on the charge of crimes against
humanity during the civil war in 1971. Ever since
Bangladesh has been embroiled in unrest in which
several people have been killed and wounded.
The ongoing turmoil comes against the background
of innumerable industrial actions and militant
protests by the workers in the last few years. Also,
in the last couple of years two factory fire incidents
claimed the lives of hundreds of textile workers,
mainly women. The garment industry is countrys
main export.
In the 1971 war of liberation, about three million
Bengalis were killed while tens of thousands of
Bengali women were raped by soldiers of the
West Pakistani army that was trying to crush a
mass revolt in East Pakistan, as it was known at
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the time. In December the Indian army invaded
East Pakistan and after a 13-day war the Pakistani
army surrendered. The rest is history. While in
Bangladesh and India, Pakistani high-handedness is
stressed, in Pakistan, the Indian hand is blamed for
the secession of East Pakistan.
However, both versions have been distorted
to serve the interests of the ruling elites. The
movement that erupted against the regime in the
united Pakistan began not in East Pakistan but
in Rawalpindi when a student of the polytechnic
college was killed by police firing on a student
demo. This triggered a mass upheaval that spread
throughout both wings of the country. It soon
developed into a class struggle with revolutionary
politics and socialist ideals dominating the uprising.
In East Pakistan the main leader that emerged in
this movement was Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan
Bashani, a Maoist, who was the leader of the
National Awami party. As the movement became
stronger with the involvement of the proletariat
and began to threaten the regime as well as the
state apparatus and the system, Bashani was
instructed by Mao himself, a close friend of the
Pakistani military ruler Ayub Khan, to back out.
This was a severe setback for the class struggle.
However, East Pakistan was also subjected to
a brutal national oppression. Sentiments of
deprivations were widespread. Consequently,
struggle assumed a nationalist color. Imperialists
and the Indian ruling classes heaved a sigh of relief
as they were terrified that the mighty wave of the
class struggle that was developing in East Pakistan
would spill over into the state of West Bengal in
India, a state that was already in ferment.
Such a development would have meant a
revolutionary wave engulfing the whole of the
south Asian subcontinent. This propelled Sheikh
Mujib ur Rehman, a bourgeoisie demagogue, into
the leadership of the nationalist struggle. He was
a staunch adherent of capitalism and had links
with the Indian bourgeoisie. In a revealingly frank
interview with AFP published in Le Monde, Paris,
on 31st March 1971 Mujib complained, Is the West
Pakistan government not aware that I am the only
one able to save East Pakistan from communism?
The Indian army invaded East Bengal not really
to defeat the Pakistan army but in fact to crush
the soviets or the Panchayats of the workers,
peasants and youth that had sprung up in the areas
liberated by the mass struggle under the leadership
of the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) and other leftorganizations. But what is also true is that the
atrocities committed by the Pakistani Army were
complimented by the vigilantes of the Jamaat-a-
Islami, organised in its armed wings of Al Badar and
Al Shams.
The deep involvement of the Jamaat in
the Operation Blitz is revealed in the book The
Indo-Pak War by Major General Hakeem Arshad
Qureshi, who was a battalion commander in
the Dinapur district of East Pakistan during
the operation. He narrates: Maulana TufailMohammad (Amir) of the Jamaat-a- Islami visited
us after the military action...The Maulana was
particularly concerned about the performance of
the Razakars(volunteers) locally recruited and
belonging to his party... He jokingly remarked that
his party cadres had always come to the rescue of
the Army in tough situations.
There is no doubt that these leaders of the Jamaat-
a-Islami now being tried in the war crimes tribunal
were involved in the heinous crimes against
the Bengali masses in the war of liberation. Butthe question arises as to why these trials are
being conducted forty two years after the crimes
were committed. The motive of the incumbent
government is to distract the masses from the
burning issues. In addition, we might also ask
why the Jamaat is still a substantial political force
in Bangladesh when its leaders played such a
treacherous role during its independence struggle.
In spite of a secular constitution and the demeanor
of its mainstream leaders, the independence of
Bangladesh has failed to alleviate the masses fromdeprivation, misery and poverty under a capitalist
regime. Both the mainstream parties represent
the interests of the Bengali ruling classes that took
control of the state and the economy after the
creation of Bangladesh.
It also proves that any independence on a bourgeois
basis cannot resolve the burning problems afflicting
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a society owing to capitalist exploitation and
imperialist plunder. Fundamentalism breeds in this
malaise that has set in due to the stagnation of the
workers movement and the misery that prevails
in society. The tens of thousands protesting in the
Shahbagh square are mainly the petit bourgeoisieexpressing their frustration with the burgeoning
social and economic crisis that has now started
to bite even the middle classes. Those who are
ferociously belligerent for the utopia of Islamization
are from a similar class background with almost the
same frustration with their lives in this system in
decay.
It is unfortunate that most of the left leadership,
in the name of secularism and democracy,
has abandoned the urgent need for a socio-
economic transformation in order to achievethe emancipation of the Bengali masses. (From
Viewpointoline.net).
NUCLEAR MARATHON IN SOUTH ASIA
Dr. Qaisar Abbas
(Assistant Dean, University of North Texas and
member South Asia Democracy Watch Board of
Directors).
On April 19, 2012, India tested its long range
ballistic missile Agni 5 with a capability to carry a
nuclear warhead for 3,100 miles. Although experts
believe the test was China-centric as it had the
capability of reaching major cities of Beijing and
Shanghai, it also revealed a nerve-wracking nuclearrace between India and Pakistan where the two
neighbors, equipped with dangerous weapons,
are also in a constant state of armed conflict. In
an apparent response, Pakistan also conducted a
missile test the following week on April 25 exposing
the intensity of the nuclear race in South Asia.
In the aftermath of the United States signing a
treaty of nuclear collaboration with India, Pakistan,
reportedly, is trying to be the fifth largest nuclear
power in the world by developing a record number
of nuclear weapons (Masood, 2012). According to
some estimates Pakistan has 70-90 warheads ascompared to 60-80 warheads of India.
Both neighbors have declined to sign the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). While
for Pakistan, being a weaker and smaller military
power, nuclear capability becomes a security issue,
India, ironically uses the same logic against China as
a justification to continue the nuclear mad race.
For India, the nuclear regime rests on using unclear
weapons as a defensive strategy; Pakistan reserves
its right for a first strike. In this crazy competition if
India develops the nuclear Ballistic Missile Defense
(BMD) shield, possibly Pakistan will also follow the
suit.
It is argued that nuclear capability acts as an
effective deterrence but the fact that both South
Asian countries have had armed conflicts with each
other even after their nuclear tests, makes the
situation even more volatile for the whole region.
Analyzing the four conflicts between the two rival
countries, Brasstacks in 1987, Kashmir uprising in
1990, the Kargil attack in 1999, and border tensions
in 2001-2002, a study concludes:
Overall, the entry of nuclear weapons into the
subcontinent, ostensibly to ensure national
security, has not made the region more stable
or conflict less likely. The Kargil conflict and the
year-long border confrontation between the two
countries have proven to be exception to the
accepted wisdom that nuclear weapons stabilize
relations, strengthens deterrence, and discourage
both conventional and nuclear conflict (Chari,
Cheema and Cohen, 2007).
Evidently, the nuclear tests did not stop small
scale adventures; they did point to the possibility
of similar conflicts in the future with a possible
threat of nuclear holocaust in the region. Probably
based on this depressing prediction, a recent report
highlighted the need for nonproliferation of nuclear
arms in the region:
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For now, India, Pakistan, and the international
community must focus on incremental steps
to bring these two states into the global non-
proliferation regime while working to enhance
strategic stability in the region, thereby reducing
chances of a nuclear catastrophe (Yousuf, 2010).
The case of South Asia, however, is more alarming
than other nuclear zones in the world. Not only it is
one of the most dangerous world regions, it is also
surrounded by two nuclear giants, Russia and China.
When both nuclear competitors in South Asia
only have poverty and human sufferings for their
citizens, the nuclear race in the region seems to be
an unfortunate development which has a capability
of wiping out millions of people with horrifying
global consequences. Unfortunately, while thewhole world is watching silently, the nuclear
marathon goes on in South Asia.
_________________________
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ALLAMA IQBAL AND KASHMIR
Raja Muzaffar
(Known Kashmiri leader and member South Asia
Democracy Watch Board of Directors)
There are so many facts about Kashmir not known
even after 66 years of partition in the subcontinent
of India and Pakistan. In addition, the rumor mill has
been busy in creating baseless and untrue stories
about Kashmir, its history and its people.
Religious extremists in India and Pakistan, calling
the partition as an incomplete agenda, have
also spread false and misleading ideologies. This
militancy has consumed three generations in the
subcontinent. Ill-conceived notions of hatred
have now permeated into the society so much
that violence has not even spared our mosques,
temples, churches, streets and alleys.
Kashmir was very close to Allama Iqbals heart and
mind based on his historical links with the valley. As
his family came from the Kashmir, he always kept
its history and values alive in his work and poetry.
In one of his poems, he laments the fate of
Kashmirs people in these words:
Today that land of Kashmir
Once known among the wise
As the Little Iran,
Under the heels of the enemy
Has become weak
Helpless and poor.
He was so concerned about the poor masses of
Kashmir; his poetic discourse intensely narrated the
large gulf between the common masses and the
ruling classes of the whole region:
A burning lament
Comes down from the heavens
When the man of veracity and integrity
Is overawed by
The power and pomp
Of kings and land lords.
Then, when he notices a small cottage of an old
farmer away from the colors of the city, he could
not help thinking about his inner, prevailing
empathy with the lonely peasant in comparison to
those who have all the luxuries in their world:
The old farmers cottage
On the mountainside
Where despair prevails
Tells another story of fate
And its hardships.
Moaning on the fate of his people, Iqbal seems
to complain the Almighty to allow all of this. The
candid commentary seems so contemporary as if
the poet can see whats going on here in the 21st
century in the whole region at large:
So skillful with hands,
So rich in wisdom
These people,
O God, your justice,
So long delayed
Must come at least
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As a retribution!
The wave of hatred has now taken over the whole
society and mistrust is so deep in our culture that
everyone has become a suspect in the eyes of
others.
In all developing societies, progressives, however,
continue the process of exploring new possibilities
and continue to embrace fresh ideas of promoting
harmony and love, rejecting old and rotten theories
of hatred.
This was the context of creating a new organization,
the South Asia Democracy Watch. It aims at finding
new venues of human emancipation in South Asia
by identifying hurdles in the path of establishing a
democratic rule, justice, and equity in the region.
We intend to work for strengthening the pillars
of democracy and peace in South Asia. With this
mission, the organization continues to work on
researching and promoting democratic values
among South Asians and among the diaspora all
over the world.
_____________________________
POST-ELECTION SCENARIO IN PAKISTAN
Tausif Kamal
(Attorney at Law and member South Asia
Democracy Watch Board of Directors)
General elections held on May 11, 2013 in Pakistan
may be termed as a victory for democracy and
an indication of peoples desire for self-rule and
freedom. Defying threats of violence by the Taliban
and Jihadists, there was a heavy 60% turnout
of voters. However, it was marred by serious
allegations of ballot rigging and irregularities at
many locations and almost a boycott of elections by
people in Balochistan.
Be that as it may, the elections unveiled three
surprises. A decisive victory by PML-N headed by a
resurgent Nawaz Sharif, the twice prime minister,
securing a near majority of 127 National Assembly
seats out of the total elected 272 seats. Secondly,
the abysmal showing, with only 31 seats, of the
outgoing PPP and its disappearance from Punjab is
astonishing. Thirdly, a disappointing outcome for
the popular Imran Khan and his PTI party, obtaining
just 28 seats, amidst great though unrealistic
expectations by PTI s youth fan base, clamoring for
a Naya or new Pakistan.
The religious parties like JI and JUI were unable to
win a number of seats. As far as election results
for the four provinces of Pakistan are concerned,
PMLN with a huge majority will form the Panjab
government, while PPP and PTI will lead the Sindh
and KPK governments respectively. Balochistangovernment will probably be also formed by PMLN
also in coalition with other parties.
So what does the future hold for the country under
the leadership of Mr. Nawaz Sharif? Sustaining
democracy, protecting human rights especially of
subjugated minorities, guaranteeing the safety
and security of people, jump starting a bankrupt
economy, promoting peace with its South Asian
neighbors, would doubtlessly be a very dauntingchallenge for him.
Nawaz Sharifs first and immediate task should
be to stop without any delay the failing of the
Pakistani state and rapid erosion of its authority by
the relentless terror attacks in the country by the
declared enemy, the Taliban.
PMLNs second task should be to strengthen the
civil government so that it can effectively govern
and have the strength to enforce, implement and
execute the laws. This will entail asserting civilian
oversight over the army, restricting the politically
ambitious, usurping, interfering superior judiciary
to its constitutional function of interpreting and
applying the constitution and law in actual legal
cases.
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The incoming governments third task would be
its ability and capability, to deftly handle and
effectively resolve a host of pressing domestic
issues, such as ubiquitous power shortages,
endemic corruption, inept governance, encouraging
the much- needed domestic and foreign investment
for infra-structure, creating job opportunities
for millions of unemployed youth, improving the
economy, providing health, and education facilities.
Its comforting to know that Nawaz Sharif
has publicly advocated and has previously
demonstrated his policy of closing ranks with
India and developing constructive, peaceful and
beneficial relations with all South Asian countries.
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SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS
Dr. Qaisar Abbas
With a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Qaisar Abbas has taught at several
universities and currently he is Assistant Dean at the University of North Texas. He has organized UNT Peace
Conference as its Chair on South Asia and the Middle East. He is also involved in community activities as part of
the Board Directors of the Dallas Peace Center and President of South Asia Democracy Watch. He extensively
writes on media, and socio-political issues for online and print journals. Before coming to the U.S. he worked for
Pakistan TV as News Producer and earlier as Information Office in the province of Punjab.
Ms. Talmeez Fatima Burney
Ms. Talmeez Fatima Burney is an Urdu writer and poet. With Masters degrees in Urdu and Linguistics from
Karachi University, Pakistan, she has been co-hosting a literary program on FunAsia Radio for the last five years.
She also teaches Urdu in Brookhaven Colleges in Dallas.
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Davinder Singh Daman
South Asia Democracy Watch is proud to have a known Indian actor, stage director and screenwriter, Davinder
Daman in its Advisory Council. Based in Chandigarh, India, he is known for his political activism who effectively
uses street theater as his medium for raising political awareness. He has written and staged several plays in
India, Pakistan, Britain and other countries. An anthology of his plays has been recently published in India.
Dr. Theresa Daniel
Dr. Theresa Daniel, as Commissioner of Dallas County, has extensive expertise in public affairs, economic
development, housing, transportation, education, gerontology and local political thought. With a Ph.D. in public
policy and administration, she is also a social science researcher and involved in public organizations for over
three decades. Professionally, she served as a U.S. Congressional staff member, worked with the American Red
Cross and has focused on public education for the past seven years. Prior to her election to Commissioners
Court, Dr. Daniel worked with Dallas ISD in program evaluation and accountability and is also adjunct professor
of urban and public affairs at UT-Arlington.
Mayor Dr. Arjumand Hashmi
Dr. Arjumand Hashmi, a cardiologist by profession, is Mayor of Paris in Texas. He did his medical studies in
Karachi, Pakistan and has been living in Paris for the last five years. He is the first Pakistani
American who became a mayor in the United States.
Syed Fayyaz Hassan
Syed Fayyaz Hassan is Co-Chair of American Muslim Democratic Caucus. He has an MA degree from Michigan
State University in Economics and Masters in Applied Sciences from University of Karachi, Pakistan. He is an
activist with the Democratic Party and has been serving as the Democratic Party Executive Committee since
2002.
Tausif Kamal
Attorney Tausif Kamal is one of the Pakistani American pioneers in the legal profession based in the United
States. He practiced general and corporate law in Ohio and California after obtaining his J.D. degree from
University of Akon in Ohio in 1975. He has been actively involved in advocating and defending the legal rights of
the Pakistani and other new immigrants in the United States. As a freelance writer and analyst on human rights
issues in South Asia, he has written extensively on politics, democracy and rights of minorities and women.
Dr. Nyla Ali Khan
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Dr. Nyla Ali Khan is a member of the Advisory Council of South Asia Democracy Watch. She has a Ph. D. in
English Literature from the University of Oklahoma, where she also teaches South Asian Studies, Postcolonial
Literature and Theory, and Cultural Studies. Formerly an associate professor at the University of Nebraska-
Kearney, she is the author of The Fiction of Nationality in an Era of Transnationalism (2005) and Islam,
Women, and Violence in Kashmir: Between India and Pakistan (2010).
Dr. Mohammed Jafar Mahallati
Dr. Mohammad Jafar Mahallati is currently teaching Islamic Studies at Oberlin College in Ohio. He has been
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Iran in the United Nations from 1987-1989. With a Ph.D. from
McGill University in Islamic Studies and Masters in Political Science from University of Kansas, he has also taught
at Georgetown, Yale and Columbia universities.
Dr. Masood Raja
Author of Constructing Pakistan, Dr. Masood Raja is Assistant Professor of English at the University of North
Texas specializing in the postcolonial literature and theory. He edits Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studiesand contributes regularly in academic journals and online blogs.
____________________
Mission Statement
South Asia Democracy Watch (SADeW) works as a nonprofit organization to monitor and nurture democracy
by promoting social justice, human rights and equity in South Asian countries. It intends to analyze and
communicate the available data and research work to its audience in South Asia and everywhere else in the
world.
Vision
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South Asia Democracy Watch (SADeW) envisions becoming an internationally recognized and impartial pressure
group to promote and nurture a culture of democracy and equity in South Asian countries.
Objectives
1. To monitor democratic processes and systems in Pakistan and South Asian countries.
2. To nurture a culture of democracy through educational, cultural and literary programs and events.
3. To promote democratic values of social tolerance, freedom of expression, justice, fairness and equity to a
broader American, South Asian and global audience through the modern channels of communication.
Organizational Functions
1. To develop political leadership skills among men and women in South Asian countries through training programs
and events.
2. To empower people in urban and rural areas for effective participation in political process in the region throughsupporting, debating and communicating democratic values.
3. To identify government and nongovernment policies and activities which hinder political process in the region.
4. To collect data and develop educational materials on the democratic process and system in the region and
communicate them to the diaspora, people in the regions and the American leaders and audience.
5. To monitor legislative developments in the region for protecting women, religious and ethnic minorities and the
under-privileged segments of the society at large.
6. To communicate and interact with American opinion makers, think thanks, policy institutes and media of
communication in promoting SADeWs mission andobjectives.
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